Confirmed Dead, Part 1

Wow, it is so great to be LOST again! After a stunning season opener, LOST stays on the offensive with Episode 402, "Confirmed Dead".

We return to the flashback, after two episodes of flash forwards, but it's flashback with a twist. For one thing, there are five flashbacks, five people. Furthermore, four of them are brand new characters. In addition, the fifth person is dead. All in all, it seemed like a very different use of the device, but in keeping with LOST tradition, it raised more questions than gave answers.

Prior to these flashbacks, however, we see the discovery of the "wreckage" (or "freckage", for fake wreckage) of 815 (mentioned by Naomi last season) in the Sunda Trench. News reports mention the Christiane I. These elements reference the Alternate Reality Game "Find815". For those of you unfamiliar with the game, you can read a synopsis here.

But on to the new characters. The first flashback is for Daniel Faraday, who we actually met briefly at the end of TBOTE. He is watching news reports of the 815 recovery, and he is crying. When his wife asks him why he's so upset, he says he doesn't know. There are, of course theories out there, including that he's Ana Lucia's Danny, or that he was going to adopt Claire's baby. Neither of these ideas, however, address why he doesn't know what's upsetting him.

Then on to Miles Straume, who apparently can talk to the dead, but he uses his power to steal money.

Then Charlotte, an anthroplogist in Tunisia. She seems to have a hard time believing the 815 recovery story; seeing a front page article in a Tunisian newpaper, her companion asks, "How many languages do you need to read that in before you'll believe it?" The reply, "How many languages are there?" Why so hard to believe? Well, we soon learn that Ms Lewis may have knowledge about the Dharma Initiative when she bribes her way into a dig and finds... a polar bear skeleton... wearing a Hydra Station collar!!!1!ONE!@! It seems clear from her excited rather than surprised or baffled reaction that she knows something, indeed, expected to find something of the sort.

Then we meet Frank Lapidus, who doesn't believe the footage on TV is showing what they say they are regarding Flight 815 and its pilot. When asked how he knows, he says, "I was supposed to be piloting that flight."

The fifth flashback gives us a reveal, namely that Naomi works for Abaddon. They are talking about the mission, and Naomi expresses unease about the other four members of the team. Abaddon brushes aside her concerns, including the question of 815 survivors, and tells her to get in and out.

So! What can we surmise from all of this? Well, the first thing that hits me, everyone (except, as far as we know, Miles) has some connection to/knowledge of Flight 815 and/or the Dharma Initiative, as well as the island. Naomi and Abaddon clearly know about the island, since they are sending a team there. And since 815 comes up, we can assume they know something about it as well, otherwise they would have no reason to connect it to the island. Charlotte clearly knows of the DI, and seems too happy to have touched down on the island not to have some prior knowledge. Lapidus' connection to Oceanic and 815 is explicit. That leaves Dan, who cries for no reason at the news of the recovery. This is the most mysterious connection, apparently even to Dan. It would be reasonable to expect Miles to have a connection also, although we haven't been given any clues about that.

The second observation has to do with why this particular team was chosen, but I'm going to leave that for part 2. See you in a day or two!

P.S. I can't help but notice that the comments have amounted to exactly Jack Squat so far. This would be a good oppurtunity to give me feedback, if you're not comfortable theorizing. Maybe you're thinking, "Enough with the recap already, I just watched the dang thing." Or maybe you're thinking, "Wow, thanks for summarizing what we know." In the name of all that is holy, let me know!

Thank you for your support.